Demand for senior talent grew 15% in February; ₹20 lakh+ jobs up 21%

Naukri report highlights robust hiring in high-salary roles, with jobs offering over ₹20 lakh annually growing 21%, reflecting strong demand for experienced professionals

India’s white-collar job market saw strong hiring momentum for senior professionals in February this year, with demand for candidates with over 16 years of experience growing 15 per cent over a year earlier. Additionally, those in the 13-16-year experience bracket saw a 10 per cent increase, according to a recent Naukri JobSpeak Index report.

 

The report also highlighted robust hiring in high-salary roles, with jobs offering over ₹20 lakh a year growing 21 per cent over February 2024, reflecting strong demand for experienced professionals in leadership and specialised positions.

 

Overall job market grew 4% in Feb

 

The overall job market recorded a 4 per cent Y-o-Y increase, with the hiring surge being led by sectors like artificial intelligence & machine learning (AI/ML) (21 per cent growth), hospitality (20 per cent), and real estate (9 per cent), the report noted.

   

Among core industries, fast-moving consumer goods registered 8 per cent growth, pharma 5 per cent, and global capability centres 2 per cent, while banking declined 6 per cent, reflecting ongoing challenges facing the sector.

 

While information technology hiring remained flat overall, the sector showed signs of stabilisation after notable declines in 2024. Jaipur (19 per cent) and Coimbatore (10 per cent) emerged as growth hubs, leading the trend in tech recruitment, the report highlighted.

 

Meanwhile fresher hiring was largely stable, as sectors like hospitality (23 per cent) and telecom (11 per cent) saw strong demand for entry-level talent.

 

"The job market has begun the new year on a positive note, reporting positive growths in both January and February. Moreover, considering that February last year had seen an 8 per cent decline, the story looks even more promising this year around. While AI/ML hiring continues its buoyant trend, it is also encouraging to see sectors like hospitality and real estate driving growth," said Pawan Goyal, chief business officer, Naukri.

 

Hospitality, AI roles driving growth

 

The hospitality sector recorded 20 per cent growth over the same month last year, reversing the 3 per cent decline in February 2024. Hiring activity was led by Bengaluru (56 per cent), Delhi NCR (27 per cent), and Chennai (23 per cent), the report highlighted.

 

Meanwhile, specialised tech roles saw high demand, with data scientists (76 per cent), machine learning engineers (70 per cent), search engineers (52 per cent), big data testing engineers (48 per cent), and security consultants (44 per cent) among the fastest-growing job categories.

 

Retail hiring down, but there are some bright spots

 

Despite an overall 4 per cent decline in retail hiring, specific sub-sectors like consumer durables (25 per cent), garments & accessories (15 per cent), and beauty & wellness (13 per cent) posted hiring growth, particularly for fresher roles.

 

With senior hiring and high-salary roles seeing strong demand, along with steady job market expansion, India’s employment outlook remains positive for the first six months of 2025, as revealed by another recent Naukri.com report.